Colorado Court of Appeals upholds cattle ban against Dean Schuman

Logan County farmer found guilty in 2011 of animal cruelty

Journal-Advocate staff

Posted:
09/13/2012 04:46:45 PM MDT

Cattle impounded from Gilbert Dean Schuman s farm are pictured in their pen at the Sterling Livestock Commission on April 5. Schuman was arrested on March 15 for 16 counts of cruelty or neglect of animals. (Judy Debus/Journal-Advocate)

The Colorado Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision from Logan County District Court Judge Douglas Vannoy to permanently restrain Gilbert Dean Schuman, of Schuman Cattle, LLC, from owning, managing, tending or otherwise possessing cattle in Logan County, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

The decision came Aug. 30 as a result of the Sterling resident's request for an appellate review of the 2011 decision, which claimed the court's order was unnecessarily broad and violated his constitutional rights to use his property to carry on a legitimate business.

“The legislature's clear intent is to protect livestock and companion animals from such mistreatment and neglect,” said Court of Appeals Judge Diana Terry, citing expert testimony, according to a news release. “The Act (sic) authorized the trial court to permanently enjoin defendants from future ownership of livestock to enforce compliance with the Act's provisions.”

The published opinion on the appeal supported the agriculture commissioner's authority to enforce the Animal Protection Act, as well as the district courts' ability to fashion relief that supports the commissioner's responsibility to protect livestock, according to the release.

In April 2010, the Colorado Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Protection seized 28 animals on a property south of Sterling that were later sold. Those animals were evaluated by the state veterinarian's office and found to be in poor body condition, with ratings of 1 or 2 on a scale where 8 is the best. Schuman was declared an unfit owner in District Court on April 28, 2010, and was restrained from owning any cattle.

In a separate case, Schuman was arrested March 15, 2010, after the Logan County Sheriff's Office searched his property. Deputies found about 79 bovine carcasses on the property in various stages of decay, with some found in a livestock pond and others under mounds of hay.

Gilbert 'Dean' Schuman

Sixteen cattle (14 cows and two calves) were taken to the Sterling Livestock Commission Company because their welfare was in question; one animal was euthanized.

During a two-day trial, Schuman's defense argued that he had feed on his property and was victim of a severe 2009-2010 winter. Lab results from autopsies of the carcasses showed the cattle died of moderate to severe malnutrition.

The jury found him guilty regardless, and he was sentenced on 14 counts of animal cruelty on April 4, 2011.

Logan County Court Judge Robert Smith gave him 180 days in jail – with a 120 days suspended with successful completion of probation – fines totaling more than $3,860 and 100 hours of public service.

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